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April 21, 2025 |  By: Iowa News Service

Iowa Rights Activists Fight Social Service Cuts

Groups working for human rights causes in Iowa warn proposed cuts being debated in Congress would trickle down to the people least able to sustain them. The Trump administration has proposed 880-billion dollars in cuts over the next decade to Medicaid and other services, including SNAP. Progress Iowa Executive Director Mazie Stilwell says those cuts would fall most squarely on average Iowans, many of them kids, who don't have a voice in the process.

"There is so much fear right now and it's fear from every day working Iowans who know there is no one fighting for them. It's the Iowans who know that when push comes to shove and when programs are out on the chopping block, they know they're the ones that are going to suffer.", says Stillwell. 

The Trump administration has said it is working to downsize the federal government and cut expenses. About 270 thousand Iowans receive SNAP or federal food assistance, and more than 700 thousand get their health coverage from Medicaid.

Stilwell contends Iowans aren't the only ones afraid of potential social service cuts, but politicians, too. She suspects that's one reason they aren't showing up at town hall meetings that have long been the hallmark of grassroots democracy in the state.

"What we've seen is these members of congress running away from their constituents. They are refusing to answer their questions and trying to make a mockery of their constituents and their efforts.", says Stillwell. 

Stilwell says in light of the just-passed income tax filing deadline, Iowans want to know their money is being used to represent their interests, and not to fund tax cuts or corporate interests. Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn, both Republicans voted in favor of the measure that would cut social services.